zale always seemed so tough .how did cerdan poud him so unmercifully?was zale past his prime? did the graziano wars take it all out of him??
Zale was about 37 i think, would've been tougher for Cerdan prime for prime, but i think Cerdan probably still would have won it.
LaMotta beat a one-armed Cerdan! Cerdan injured his shoulder in the first round and many have said that the fight was still competitive till Cerdan retired due to inury eventhough Cerdan basically had one arm!!!! Who know's what would have happened had the plane not gone down and they had their rematch? A healthy Cerdan and LaMotta would have still been a good fight, but many believe Cerdan had too many weapons. How great Cerdan would have been we will never know!
As has been said, a bit of both. The war years robbed Zale of much of his prime years and he was regarded as being a little bit past his best when he fought Graziano. I think those fights against Graziano, particularly the first two, took much of the starch out of Zale's legendary punch resistance. But Cerdan was a terrific fighter and may have beaten a younger version of Zale regardless. I like Tony a lot as a fighter though. He was terrific.
Agree with this particularly the bold. Cerdan doesn't quite get the credit he deserves in some quarters, very underestimated fighter.
Hi mate, hows things (haven't posted as much in the 'classic' for a wee while, moreso in lounge. A bit of burnout but am going to do so more once again). At times it's kind of difficult to bring up fresh boxing discussions that haven't been gone over, some many times before. A wee break was needed but I'm back with the same fervor of old. :good Ya been playing any golf lately?
Zale was shot when he faced Cerdan. The evidence is the fact that he struggled so much with Graziano who wasnt that good to begin with. The powers that be had been protecting Zales title with easy matches since the end of the war. Graziano was supposed to be one of those easy matches. When Cerdan got Zale he was a spent bullet. LaMotta would have kicked Cerdan's ass with or without an injured arm.
Zale looked pretty damn good against Graziano in the final fight before facing Cerdan. He looks very sharp in that one. Anyway, regardless of how far past his prime he was, there's no reason to assume Cerdan wasn't good enough to beat a prime Zale. I haven't seen LaMotta v. Cerdan so I cannot really comment on that one.
Hey champ! Sorry i'm late. Played shyte yesty in a big ambrose event, the whole team did. Today tho me new R7 TP irons just arrived!!!!
I think Zale was past his best but regardless Cerdan was a special fighter its a shame he passed away when he did a rematch with LaMotta was going to happen and it would have been great to see him against Robinson. I feel Cerdan would have beaten Zale had they met up at there best his left hook in that match was a thing of beauty.
